Four Day Rally In U.S. Stocks

Barry Adams
07 Jul, 2022
New York City

U.S. benchmark indexes advanced for the fourth day in a row and tech and oil stocks led the gainers.  

The S&P 500 index increased 1.2% to 3,890.29 and the Nasdaq Composite index added 1.8% to 11,599.67. 

Futures of crude oil jumped 5.8% to $104.25 and natural gas increased 12.9% to $6.23 a unit. Energy prices rebounded after a 4-day decline. 

Chipmakers advanced after South Korea based Samsung reported its strongest June quarter in four years. 

Intel increased 2.7% to $37.99, Advanced Micro Devices added 4.5% to $78.74, and Qualcomm, Inc jumped 4.5% to $132.86. 

The yield on 10-year Treasury notes increased to 3.008% after the latest Fed minutes of meeting indicated policymakers' commitment in fighting inflation. 

Policymakers proposed a restrictive stance and a faster interest rate hike at the next Fed's meeting on July 26. 

The tough talk from policymakers may not smooth markets for too long as the central bank ignored inflation above its target rate of 2% for more than 18 months. 

Initial claims of jobless benefits rose 4,000 to 235,000 for the week ended July 2, the Department of Labor reported today. 

The initial claims increased to the level last seen in the second week in January and the 4-week average increased to 232,500, its highest level since December 2021. 

Goods and services trade deficit edged lower to $85.5 billion from $86.7 billion in April, the Commerce Department reported today. 

Though the deficit declined on a monthly basis but surged 38.4% from a year ago after imports rebounded faster than exports. 

On a monthly basis, the seasonally adjusted trade deficit with China declined in May by $2.8 billion to $32.2 billion.

After the close, Levi Strauss and WD 40 Company are set to report earnings.